


family

by cautiouslyoptimistic



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 16:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9243239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cautiouslyoptimistic/pseuds/cautiouslyoptimistic
Summary: telling everyone else about lena was easy so she doesn't know why he's so difficultor, kara wants to tell clark about her relationship with lena





	

**Author's Note:**

> originally from tumblr @forlornlyoptimistic. now here too!!

Admittedly, she hadn’t quite expected things to get so…confusing. She’s not really the sort of person who likes to make cool, calculated decisions. Mostly, she allows her heart to do the thinking, happily following wherever the admittedly unreliable organ takes her.

(She tries not to think too hard about the times her heart let her down, like with her Aunt Astra or with James. They were honest mistakes, really. For the most part, following what felt right has served her well. At least, until now.)

Telling Alex had been easy. She sat her sister down, offered her a slice of pizza, and then with a smile and a _who’d’a’ thunk it_ expression, she told Alex the truth. (“You know how I once said we’re nothing alike? Well, I guess we have one thing in common!”)

Winn, too, had been easy to tell—

“Wait, so you and…”

“Yep.”

“Right, so in order to soothe my wounded pride, can I pretend this is the reason why you rejected me last year?”

“Winn, I didn’t even _know_ her last year.”

“So that’s a yes, right?”

—and James had guessed it from the start. (“As long as you’re happy, Kara,” he had said, smiling. “If anyone deserves it, it’s you.”)

And after telling her sister, her best friend, and James (her second best friend? she wonders if that’s a thing), Kara doesn’t really think about telling anyone else. Frankly, she doesn’t think J’onn cares one way or the other, and she would have gotten a lecture from him no matter who she’d fallen in love with (“Keep your secret _secret_ , Kara. Too many people know about Supergirl as it is.”), and she’s not in much of a position to call up Ms. Grant. (Though, if she thinks about it a little, she can actually imagine Ms. Grant letting out a huff, rolling her eyes, and muttering, “Well _of course_ I think it’s brilliant. While I may not like her stance on a few matters, Lena Luthor certainly isn’t the _worst_ person to fall for. Honestly, Keira, it’s none of my business anyway. Did I tell you about the time Ellen asked me out on a date? This is before Portia, of course…”)

In the end, she only has one person left to actually tell…well, tell her _news_. And despite what Alex thinks, she doesn’t put it off because she’s _scared_.

“Just tell him, Kara,” Alex says, throwing her head back and sinking deeper into the couch cushions. “He’ll be happy for you.”

“I know that,” she says stiffly, unable to help the wriggling of her nose, turning away when Alex points to it with a raised eyebrow. “I do know that.”

“Your cousin is great,” Alex says, motioning for Kara to join her on the couch, pulling her into a tight hug once she does. “And I don’t say that just because he smells great.”

“Everyone important already knows.”

“Are you saying Clark isn’t important?”

“What? No. He’s just…busy. So busy. It’s actually probably best to just…not tell him?”

“Do you think he’ll react poorly because Lena’s well…a she?” Alex is attempting to sound merely curious, but Kara can hear the protective edge to her voice. She shakes her head, pulling away from the hug so that Alex can see she’s being honest.

“Clark’s not like that.”

“Then just tell him. It’ll be like pulling off a Band-Aid—quick and only moderately embarrassing.”

“What sort of Band-Aids are you using?” Kara asks, genuinely curious. But Alex raises an eyebrow.

“Tell him, Kara. You’ll feel better once you do.”

(She agrees with her sister. She _will_ feel better once she tells Clark about Lena. It doesn’t mean she goes through with it.)

 

x

 

It’s understandably awkward when Clark comes to visit.

For one, Lena thinks it’s absurdly funny that the entire world is aware of their relationship and Clark still has no clue. (There was a problematic photo taken of them outside a restaurant after their sixth—or seventh?—date. The photo, of course, found its way into the cover of dozens of magazines, with the exception of Catco Magazine, courtesy of James Olsen. It hadn’t been the way Kara wanted Eliza to find out about her relationship with Lena, but when it’s all said and done, Kara thinks that it couldn’t have gone any better.) Her amusement, however, comes less from Clark’s ignorance and more from Kara’s pink-tinged ears every time Lena makes a suggestive comment, hints and insinuations that go way over Clark’s head. Lena even manages to make Kara nearly inhale a potsticker during dinner on Clark’s first night in National City.

For another, some odd business with Lex Luthor—still flexing his super-villain muscles, even from behind bars—had renewed Clark’s distaste for the Luthor family. And if his confused expressions and furrowed brows are anything to go by, he doesn’t seem to appreciate the fact that Lena seems to be constantly around. Even worse are the comments he makes when she’s not. (“I know the two of you are close, Kara,” he says bracingly as they head for coffee together, “and I’m willing to give her a chance since you trust her. But Luthors are dangerous.”) Kara isn’t quite sure how to explain that the danger Lena poses isn’t quite what Clark imagines it to be.

(“You really need to tell him,” Winn mutters after Clark’s second day in National City. “I can see him thinking too hard.”

“I’m _trying_ ,” Kara answers, but it’s a lie. She’s fidgety and the crinkle between her brows makes a stellar comeback, and honestly, it’s all one enormous mess.)

Clark is three days into his visit—three days of Kara mumbling under her breath whenever Lena is mentioned, three days of strategically avoiding talking about anything related to relationships, three days of forced laughter and shifty eyes—when he finally sits Kara down, clearly fed up.

“All right, talk,” he says, doing the thing with his glasses that Kara always does. “You’ve been acting strange since I got here and I want to know why.”

“I literally have no clue what you’re talking about,” Kara denies. It’s a lie, Clark knows that (damn that wiggly nose and crinkle between the brows), but he doesn’t call her out on it. Instead, he clears his throat.

“If this is about James—”

“—it’s not. _Really_ ,” she stresses when Clark looks close to arguing. “James and I are fine. Great.”

“So is it…Mike?”

“Mon-El? No. No, that’s nothing. He’s…nothing. I mean, not _nothing_. Just nothing to me.” Her brain catches up with what her mouth is spouting and she backtracks. “I don’t mean it like that. He’s just like a brother. That’s all. A somewhat arrogant and maybe a little delusional younger brother.”

“So there’s nothing wrong?”

“Nope, not a thing.”

“And you’re all right?”

“Of course, yeah.”

Clark nods slowly, not looking like he believes her.

“You’re coming to Metropolis after Christmas, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Okay then. Okay.” He smiles then, pulling her into a hug, and Kara closes her eyes, reveling in the sense of comfort and safety Clark’s presence always gives her. She suddenly forgets why she can’t seem to tell him about Lena. (She’s not afraid. She _isn’t._ )

“Alex is right, you do smell great,” she says as Clark releases her, his smile crooked and his eyes bright.

“I’ll see you soon, Kara,” he says, and then he’s gone. And she regrets not telling him.

 

x

 

“You don’t owe him anything, you know,” Alex says. They’re on a double date (not that Alex would admit that, fiercely denying she and Maggie are anything but _friends_ , though Kara’s never seen a _friend_ look at someone the way Maggie looks at Alex) and Maggie and Lena had gone to get their second round of drinks. (Kara’s been warned to cut back so that it won’t look suspicious when the drinks have no effect on her. There’s nothing to worry about though, Lena just believes that Kara has an impressive metabolism.) For Alex, this seems the perfect moment to bring up Clark. For Kara, not so much.

“I really don’t want to talk about it, Alex.”

“You have to. Whether you think he won’t be supportive or if you’re scared he’ll judge—”

“—that’s not—”

“—you don’t owe him anything. You don’t have to feel guilty about not telling him.” Kara bites her lip, shaking her head.

“That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“He’s…he’s _Clark._ I know he’ll be supportive, I know he’ll be happy for me. But he’s also Superman.”

“And Superman doesn’t like the Luthors,” Alex finishes for her, understanding flooding her features. “Oh Kara, he wouldn’t make you choose. You know that.”

“But what if he did? Clark is the only thing I have left from Krypton. He’s…he’s family. How am I supposed to choose between family and Lena?”

“Trust me,” Alex says softly as Maggie and Lena approach, “you won’t have to.”

Lena’s smile is soft when she returns to the table, concern flickering in her eyes when she notices Kara’s mood. She doesn’t say anything, but when Maggie strikes up a conversation about work, Lena leans closer to Kara, threads her fingers through Kara’s, thumb rubbing reassuring patterns into the back of Kara’s hand.

(That night, Kara sends Clark a text.

A reply comes almost immediately: _I already knew. You’re not great at secrets. I’m so happy for you_.)


End file.
